I’m here to let you know that not only can you do a lot of business online with Social Security –you can do it in Spanish.

Zomarie:

Please note that whether you are sending information in Spanish or English, your privacy is very important to Social Security. We have taken every precaution to make sure your information is protected.

Now, here are a few things I bet you’ll find useful.

Want to know how much Social Security you can expect to get when you retire? You can use the Retirement Estimator.

Are you ready to retire? You can apply for your benefits online.

Still working but are ready to apply for Medicare? You can do that online too.

Maybe you need to apply for extra help with the cost of your prescriptions? You can do that too!
All in Spanish!

You can find links to all the applications we’ll be talking about at segurosocial.gov

Luis:

We’re going to take a closer look at the retirement estimator, and the Retirement and Medicare applications that you can find in Spanish on segurosocial.gov.

Luis:

By now, some of you have already used or at least heard about the Spanish retirement estimator.

Luis

The retirement estimator is a great way to get a good idea about how much money you could get from Social Security when you retire.

Luis:

That estimate is based on your actual work record. You can use the retirement estimator if you have enough Social Security credits at this time to qualify for benefits.

The Retirement Estimator will produce an immediate, personalized retirement estimate and also let you look at different scenarios.

Not everyone can use the retirement estimator. Generally, you CANNOT use it if you are

already getting benefits on your own Social Security record, or you’re age 62 or older and getting benefits on someone else’s record;

waiting for a decision about your application for benefits or Medicare; or

eligible for a pension for work not covered by Social Security, like some Federal, State and local government employment.

To begin, you will be asked to enter identifying information such as your name, social security number, birth date and your earnings last year.

If you worked last year, we assume that you will continue to work and make about the same amount that you entered for last year’s earnings. This will give you a good idea of what to expect in retirement.

You will also be able to change the age you expect to stop work or adjust your anticipated future earnings to see how those changes affect your benefit.

Zomarie:

One nice thing about the retirement estimator is you put in the information and it gives you an answer right away!

Zomarie:

Let’s hear from a couple of Social Security employees about the Spanish Retirement Estimator

Interviewee:

Janie, I think that people who use the Retirement Estimator will find that it’s easy to use.

Yes, you’re right. If someone wishes to get a quick estimate for his retirement, all he has to do is to enter his Social Security number and certain basic information.

Right. Once the person enters the information, he’ll be able to immediately see an estimate of the Social Security retirement benefits.

Look, he can see how much he’ll get at 62 years of age, at full retirement age, and even at age 70.

This is great, especially being able to plan for retirement trying different ages and different amounts of income to be able to decide when he should apply for the payments from Social Security.

Exactly, you see the person can use the Retirement Estimator to see how much he can receive at age 63, 64, 65, and so on.

Luis:

So, when you are ready to apply for retirement benefits, you don’t need to visit a Social Security office--you can do it quickly and easily on your home or office computer.

Or, if you are age 65, but not yet ready to retire, you can apply for Medicare only – and again, you can do that online!

Zomarie:
If you aren’t sure about getting started on the computer, ask your children or grandchildren to help you.

Interviewee:
My grandmother we always helped her to fill out the forms in English, and also find information in English. Explain what questions she needs to answer about whether she wrote the right thing on the forms.

But now, having the new website in our language, in Spanish, not only can I help my grandmother, I can help a lot of people that I know in the Latino community. Visit us at segurosocial.gov to see what I’m talking about.

Luis:

We’ve heard why people like being able to do business with Social Security online and in their own language.

But when it comes to something as important as applying for retirement or Medicare, I bet you’re wondering how it works.

When you get on the application, you’ll go through a series of screens that will ask you questions about yourself, your family, and your work. We also provide informational videos if you have questions while completing the application.

And you don’t have to complete it all in one sitting.

If you need to take a break, you can stop and return to the application later without losing the information you already entered.

Once you’ve answered all of the questions, select “Sign Now”.

Your application will be sent electronically to Social Security.

If it turns out we need more information from you, we’ll contact you by phone.

Interviewee:

When I was part of the team that designed the Internet application for Social Security benefits, I never imagined that I’d have the opportunity to translate it to Spanish. I was very enthusiastic about this project.

One of the things that attracted me was knowing that I’d be helping to make the Social Security Internet services more accessible for Spanish-speaking people, the easiest way to apply through the Internet and now can be done in Spanish.

Zomarie:

Social Security wants to reach people who need extra help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs.

To qualify for the Extra Help, a person must be receiving Medicare, have limited resources and income, and reside in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.

Zomarie:

If you know someone having difficulty paying for their Medicare prescription drugs, - a relative, friend or neighbor – tell them they can go online and apply for Extra Help.

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